Washington Trust Bank Blog | The First Charter School in Spokane is Scheduled to open in October

The First Charter School in Spokane is Scheduled to open in October

Members of the Washington Trust Bank team had the opportunity to attend the Washington Policy Center Eastern Washington Education Breakfast to hear from local educational leaders about the benefits of Spokane’s first Charter School. PRIDE Prep School of Technology and Science was the first charter school to be authorized in Washington State.

While PRIDE Prep is the first charter school to be authorized in Washington State—the funding needed to get PRIDE Prep up and running is still being raised.

PRIDE Prep, CEO, Brenda McDonald said she is in the process of raising the funds that will help with initial start-up costs which include securing a location to house the school.

PRIP Prep will be a one-to-one technology school. Each PRIDE Prep student will have a tablet in which they work from. Students will be heavily focused on math, science, and technology.

Charter Schools

Two million students attend charter schools across 41 states and 610,000 students have asked to be placed on charter school wait lists. A total of eight charter schools have been authorized in Washington State this year.

Charter schools are independent public schools that use nontraditional and innovative teaching methods. They are held accountable for improved student achievement, receive taxpayer funding and are governed by their own boards.

A charter school is not a Private School—there is no tuition and it is open to anyone.

Brenda McDonald

McDonald has served as the Garry Middle School Principle for the last eight years and has been working in the Spokane Public School system for 20 years. She is fiercely passionate about the opportunities that Pride PREP will provide to many of the students who need a learning environment that is different than that of the public schools.